Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Where: New York City, NY
When: 1997 / January 10, 2015
With: School / Dave

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are like a one-two punch welcome wagon to the New York City harbor. While Lady Liberty dominates the skyline, welcoming boaters to the city with her spiked crown and torch, Ellis Island sits quietly by her side and for many years, did the actual welcoming, not just to the city, but to the United States.

The Statue of Liberty has felt like a fixture in my home since I was a kid growing up in New Jersey. It was part of the skyline that dominated the views from my hometown and anytime we drove to north Jersey, there she was. When I was six, I was oddly afraid of her (I had a really bad nightmare that she was chasing me a la Ghostbusters II), but now I just always feel in awe of her.

For years, I saw her dominating the skyline and the view never got old.  But even after living in New York for eight years, the closest I ever got was a boat ride around her base. And while that afforded me several beautiful photos, it felt like something huge was missing on my New York bucket list.

So when we returned to New York for our year post-London, I made a point to book tickets to tour Lady Liberty. It was the dead of winter and freezing, but she is often shut down for repairs so any chance to go up to her crown must be seized!

We took the ferry from Battery Park to Liberty Island and got some excellent views of her as we came around the island. 

We also had a pretty stunning view of the Manhattan skyline and the recently completed Freedom Tower.

Officially on Liberty Island. Anyone who buys a ticket for the ferry can disembark and explore the island.

We wandered around her massive base from behind, staring 301 feet up to the top of the torch. 

Despite being the symbol of America, she was actually a gift from the French to mark the centennial of the War of Independence. As the Revolutionary War was a catalyst to the French to fight for their own independence from their monarchy, they saw a kinship in the mutual struggle and felt this statue would pay homage to the hard fought battles of both countries. She was therefore built in France, packed in pieces into crates, and then shipped over to the US for assembly. 

Upon closer inspection, I got to appreciate the details of the sculpting, particularly the way the robes fall, her hands, and the often overlooked raised back foot that indicates forward motion. It's also crazy to think that she was originally copper like a penny before oxidation changed her to her infamous mint green in the early 1900s. 

While the statue is huge, I had never appreciated how big the base itself is. From the ground, it is 160 feet to the toes of Lady Liberty. 

The original cornerstone. 

So cold, but so worth it!

Finally, it was time to head inside.

In the base is a large museum containing memorabilia, particularly as it relates to the funding and construction of this massive project. The lack of funding almost halted the creation of this statue, and as such, the arm and torch had to be sent around to various showcases in an effort to raise money. 

Inside, the internal framework is left partially exposed and still has the original numbering on the blocks. This helped builders reconstruct the statue after it arrived from France like a massive puzzle.

Some of the original moldings and casts. 

As we ascended the many, many, many stairs to the top, there were several outlooks to break up the climb, each affording a different vantage point of the statue and surrounding area.

Still a long way to go. 

As we climbed higher, the structure narrowed and closed in around us. The interior metal framework in the statue was actually constructed by Gustave Eiffel, whose name indicates his other very famous French metal work. 

It appears we might be near the top. So weird to see this view!

Eventually, we made into the head! This space was tiny with one small platform that hugged the windows of the crown. It is understandable why tickets are issued for very specific times as crowd control would be critical up here. 

A positive of the winter: it must be sweltering up here in the dead of summer, like roasting in a tin can. Despite being 20 degrees outside, it was a comfortable 70 degrees up here, even with an open window!

From the tiny windows, we had some very cool views of the rest of the statue. We could see the rivets that bind her pieces of copper together and appreciate this beautiful work of art up close.

We also got some unique views of the NYC skyline.

And as if to mark our next stop, we got a great view of Ellis Island. 

While Ellis Island also shares the New York harbor with Liberty Island, this one technically belongs to New Jersey. From 1892 until 1954, this was the first stop for immigrants coming into the US via the New York harbor. In these walls, immigration officers could grant or dash dreams with a simple stamp. Over 12 million immigrants passed through here while it was operational. 

 While Dave and I had a wonderful time exploring, nothing could beat my first time to Ellis Island when I was in eighth grade on a field trip. Our teachers went to great lengths to fully immerse us in the immigrant experience, and I can confirm all these years later, it stands out as one of the coolest things I've ever done.

In the days leading up to the field trip, we were tasked with identifying a family member who had passed through Ellis Island (not a difficult task for Jersey kids). While I don't have any direct ancestors who came through here, we found a cousin of my great grandfather, Salveed Petruzzi. We were then given entry visas that we needed to fill out, and on the day of the field trip, we took on our new identities. 

First, we disembarked from the boat and headed towards the gates of the first building. At this point, we were greeted by volunteers from our high school who would be acting as our immigration agents for the day. They shouted directions at us in gibberish, displaying how confusing it must have been for immigrants that didn't speak English to follow along. 

We were led into the cavernous hall in which immigrants fresh off the boat would have been given a number and left to await their fate. This hall is largely empty now, but I couldn't but wonder what people from small European villages may have felt sitting in this expansive room. 

I loved the placement of this old photograph showing then versus today. 

Our high school immigration agents stood at podiums, and one by one, we were called forward to see if we would gain entry into the United States. Will we make it??

One out of three! Jamie was detained for mental health reasons, Christine was labelled as "pregnant" but admitted, and I was rejected for reasons that remain unclear. Ironically, we were then led to the various rooms outside of the hall where people were actually detained before being deported or reassessed. 

As we giggled and compared our various reasons for rejection, the sobering reality is that this would have been devastating for immigrants in real life. Often they had used all the money in their possession for passage to the United States and if they were rejected, they'd be detained here on the island until they were shipped back to their homeland to face  whatever made them leave in the first place. 

While my eighth grade trip took us back to New Jersey, Dave and I headed back to New York City after visiting the island. The boat dropped us off at Battery Park where I took a closer look at this statue dedicated to Irish immigrants escaping the potato famine for a better life in the US. It is so hard to imagine what it would feel like to leave everything and come to a strange new place so far from home, and I feel like this statue captures it.

My first visit to each of these islands may have been almost 20 years apart, but I feel like I have come to appreciate their meaning so much more as an adult. I am so glad I finally got to visit the Statue of Liberty before leaving New York City. It was everything it was cracked up to be and the final check on my list of New York attractions.  And while Ellis Island may not be as impressive to look at, it remains one of my favorite New York site (despite the fact I was rejected!)